


Learning to Live Again

by ammiehawk



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Naruto
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-10
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2018-09-23 06:58:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9645377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ammiehawk/pseuds/ammiehawk
Summary: After the dementor attack in Little Whinging, Petunia Dursley decides to send Harry to his father’s long lost family. Naruto/HP crossover





	1. The Plan

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I neither own nor profit from Naruto or Harry Potter. Just having fun.

Chapter 1: The Plan

 

Aunt Petunia’s hand was trembling. She looked wildly around the kitchen as though looking for an escape route, but too late—the envelope burst into flames. Aunt Petunia screamed and dropped it.

An awful voice filled the kitchen, echoing in the confined space, issuing from the burning letter on the table.

_“REMEMBER MY LAST, PETUNIA.”_

Aunt Petunia looked as though she might faint. She sank into the chair beside Dudley, her face in her hands. The remains of the envelope smoldered into ash in the silence.

“What is this?” Uncle Vernon said hoarsely. “What—I don’t—Petunia?”

Aunt Petunia said nothing. Dudley was staring stupidly at his mother, his mouth hanging open. The silence spiraled horribly. Harry was watching his aunt, utterly bewildered, his head throbbing fit to burst.

“Petunia, dear?” said Uncle Vernon timidly. “P-Petunia?”

She raised her head. She was still trembling. She swallowed.

“The boy—the boy will have to stay, Vernon,” she said weakly.

“W-what?”

“He stays,” she said. She was not looking at Harry. She got to her feet again.

“He… but Petunia…”

“If we throw him out, the neighbors will talk,” she said. She was regaining her usual brisk, snappish manner rapidly, though she was still very pale. “They’ll ask awkward questions, they’ll want to know where he’s gone. We’ll have to keep him.”

Uncle Vernon was deflating like an old tire.

“But Petunia, dear—”

Aunt Petunia ignored him. She turned to Harry.

“You’re to stay in your room,” she said. “You’re not to leave the house. Now go to bed.”

Harry didn’t move.

“Who was that Howler from?”

“Don’t ask questions,” Aunt Petunia snapped.

“Are you in touch with wizards?”

“I told you to get to bed!”

“What did it mean? Remember the last what?”

“Go to bed!”

“How come—?”

“YOU HEARD YOUR AUNT, NOW GET TO BED!”

888888

As soon as her nephew disappeared up the stairs, Petunia Dursley helped her son to his feet and guided him up to his bedroom. Once he was settled in with a movie, she made her way further down the hall to the door to the attic. She slipped silently inside and made her way carefully to the back.

With a sigh, she knelt down beside an old trunk, Lily’s school trunk, and opened the lid. This trunk contained everything that had been salvaged from her sister’s home after the attack. She shook her head, now was not the time for a trip down memory lane. She reached into the depths of the trunk and pulled out a small scroll.

Her prize in hand, she made her way back downstairs to speak with her husband.

888888

_I’ve just been attacked by dementors and I might be expelled from Hogwarts. I want to know what’s going on and when I’m going to get out of here._

Harry copied these words onto three separate pieces of parchment the moment he reached the desk in his dark bedroom. He addressed the first to Sirius, the second to Ron, and the third to Hermione. His owl, Hedwig, was off hunting, her cage stood empty on the desk. Harry paced the bedroom waiting for her to come back, his head pounding, his brain too busy for sleep even though his eyes stung and itched with tiredness. His back ached from carrying Dudley home, and the two lumps on his head where the window and Dudley had hit him were throbbing painfully.

Up and down he paced, consumed with anger and frustration, grinding his teeth and clenching his fists, casting angry looks out at the empty, star-strewn sky every time he passed the window. Dementors sent to get him, Mrs. Figg and tailing him in secret, then suspension from Hogwarts and a hearing at the Ministry of Magic-and _still_ no one was telling him what was going on.

And what, _what_ had that Howler been about? Whose voice had echoed so horribly, so menacingly, through the kitchen?

Why was he still trapped here without information? Why was everyone treating him like some naughty kid? _Don’t do any more magic, stay in the house…._

He kicked his school trunk as he passed it, but far from relieving his anger he felt worse, as he now had a sharp pain in his toe to deal with in addition to the pain in the rest of his body.

Just as he limped past the window, two things happened: Hedwig soared through it with a soft rustle of wings like a small ghost, and someone knocked quietly on his door. Choosing to deal with the more immediate problem first, he whirled to face the door just as his aunt pushed it open. They studied each other for a moment, before Petunia closed the portal behind her.

“Have a seat,” she motioned to the bed. “And don’t bother sending any letters. Things are going to change, right now.”

“Why?” he asked angrily.

“Not right now,” she pursed her lips at the question. “I’ll explain everything in a bit. Vernon and I have talked, and we have decided it is time for you to leave our house.”

“But… but downstairs, the-the Howler?”

“We’re not kicking you out,” she held up her hand to forestall him. “We’ve discussed it and if what you say is true, and Voldemort is back, we cannot protect you. So we’re sending you to someone who can.”

“Who?” Harry asked, confused. “Everyone from my world said I need to stay here.”

“It’s not a wizard,” she looked like she swallowed a lemon just saying the word. “He’s actually your uncle, on your father’s side.”

“I don’t have an uncle,” he jumped to his feet, almost instantly regretting the action but discarding it in his anger. “If there had been someone else, you would’ve sent me there to begin with. You’ve said almost every day for the past fourteen years that you didn’t want me here.”

“That’s not true,” she sighed. “But we’re getting off track. We’ll talk more about that in the car. Right now, we need to contact your uncle and figure out the best way to get you to him. To do that, I need some of your blood.”

“What?!” he backed away incredulously.

“Just a drop,” she soothed, holding out a sewing needle. “I just need you to place a drop on this scroll.”

“And that’s going to call my uncle?” he eyed the proffered items skeptically.

“You go to a school where you are taught magic,” she gave him a look, “and it is hard for you to believe that your blood will summon your uncle?”

“Well, when you put it that way,” he snatched the objects out of her hand and pricked his thumb and let a drop of blood fall on the scroll.

A moment later, a cloud of smoke engulfed his hand where the scroll was. He felt something heavy hit his palm, but it was too much for one hand and whatever it was fell to the floor with a faint fwump.

“Yo,” a voice said from the floor.

Two sets of eyes swiveled to the source of the voice. There, sitting innocently in the middle of the scroll, was a small brown dog in a blue vest and headband. Green eyes turned incredulously back to his aunt.

“Are you telling me my uncle is a dog?”

“Look, kid, I ain’t got no nephews,” the dog answered, “and I’m just the messenger.”

“Are you saying you work for Mr. Hatake?” she asked, not seeming the least bit affected by the fact that the dog was actually talking.

“It’s a bit more involved than that, but sure,” the dog shrugged. “So I take it you got a message for him?”

“Let him know that if he wants him, I’ll bring him his nephew,” she squared her shoulders, her resolve strengthening.

“Right,” the dog nodded and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

888888

Kakashi Hatake lounged on the couch of the apartment he now shared with his boyfriend of six months. He had actually just convinced the younger Chunin to move in earlier that week. So he sat, pretending to read his book while surreptitiously watching the other man move about the room, making adjustments and adding things here and there.

The younger man was just moving past the couch on his way to the kitchen, when quick as lightning the Copy Ninja reached out and grabbed the other around the waist and pulled him down onto his lap.

“Kakashi!” his boyfriend squeaked at the sudden assault.

“Come on, Iruka,” the silver haired Jonin nuzzled the other man’s neck. “You have all the time in the world to unpack. Take a break.”

“And you have all the time in the world to be a pervert,” Iruka struggled half heartedly to get up. “Now, let me get back to what I was doing.”

“Mmm, no,” Kakashi lowered his mask and claimed the other’s lips in a languid kiss.

His hand caressed the brunet’s stomach, while still holding him in place. He had just gotten the other to relax, and had managed to slip his hand down the front of his pants, when they were interrupted by a small cloud of smoke that appeared in the middle of the floor.

“What do you want?” he asked as his hand finally wrapped around his prize.

“Kakashi!” Iruka’s voice was breathless but firm as he carefully removed his boyfriend’s hand from his pants.

With a groan of frustration, the Jonin turned to the summon, “This had better be good, Pakkun.”

“I have a message,” the little pug seemed unperturbed that he just interrupted his master. “If you want him, she’ll bring your nephew.”

“She’s finally willing to give him up?” he stood up so quickly that Iruka ended up in a heap on the floor. “When? Where? Name it and I’ll be there.”

“Kakashi?” Iruka Umino picked himself up off the floor as the small dog disappeared the same way it had come. “What’s going on? What was that about?”

“I’m sorry, Iruka,” the silver haired Jonin sighed. “I know you just moved in, but I’m going to have to move. There’s just not enough room here to add a kid.”

“Kakashi?” the brunet took a step forward, but his boyfriend didn’t seem to notice.

“I’ve got the house still,” Kakashi continued. “I haven’t been there since Jirou died. It should take at least a couple days before they get here. That should give me enough time to air it out at least. And if I enlist some help, I can definitely have everything moved.”

“Kakashi!” Iruka put his hands on either side of his lover’s face, forcing him to make eye contact. “Talk to me. What is this about? Who’s coming?”

The taller man took a deep breath to calm down, “My nephew is finally coming home. Years ago, my brother, Jirou, went on a long term intelligence gathering mission, while he was there he fell in love and got married. They had a son together. However, they were both killed. Their son was supposed to come live with me, but when I went to collect him, his mother’s sister pleaded with me to let him stay with her. At the time, I felt I was too young to take on a baby, and she already had one, so I decided he could stay with her, but I did leave a summoning scroll and instructions on how to reach me if she ever decided she wanted me to take him. And apparently, she now wants me to take him. I can’t say no, he’s the only family I’ve got left.”

“Okay,” the Chunin shook his head, there was obviously quite a bit about the other man he still didn’t know. “Let’s go find some people to help us move. If we find enough help, we’ll be able to be done by nightfall.”

“I can’t ask you to do that, Iruka,” Kakashi sighed.

“Ask me to do what, exactly?” brown eyes flashed in warning, though the other seemed to miss it.

“I can’t ask you to raise a kid with me,” the Jonin rubbed the back of his neck. “We haven’t been going out that long. I don’t know if we’re ready for that.”

“Kakashi Hatake, how dare you!” Iruka snapped. “You asked me to be your boyfriend. You asked me to move in with you. Was that all just a joke to you? Because it wasn’t to me. I did not go into this relationship halfheartedly or without thought. I want to be with you. Do you want to be with me?”

“Yes, I do, but…”

“There are no buts here, Kakashi,” the brunet shook his head. “Either you do or you don’t. You do, fine, we’re in this, you and me against the world. You don’t, I walk right now, and I don’t want you to talk to me ever again.”

“Fine,” Kakashi chuckled, he had always found the other’s fire addictive. “If you’re sure, let’s do this.”

“Good,” Iruka nodded. “Glad to see you’re not a flake. Now, we’re going to split up and each of us are going to go see who we can find to help us move.”


	2. The Truth

Chapter 2: The Truth

 

It didn’t take long for the dog to return with the message that Harry’s uncle was willing to take him in. Petunia nodded and, after giving the time and location to the messenger, turned to her nephew.

“Gather your things,” she said briskly. “Only what you can carry, I’ll send the rest later. I don’t want to draw too much attention to the fact that you’re leaving. I knew he wouldn’t refuse so I’ve already booked us a flight.”

“What about the guard?” Harry asked, moving to comply with her orders.

“What guard?” she frowned.

“The wizard guard that’s supposed to be stationed outside,” the teen shook his head. “That bang earlier was my guard leaving. There’s probably a new one now, if not more.”

“Maybe I can get Vernon or Dudley to carry you out in a blanket,” she pursed her lips in thought. “That way they won’t know it’s you.”

“Wait,” he opened his trunk and pulled a few things out, including a long silvery cloak. “I’ve got this. It’s an Invisibility Cloak. It belonged to my dad. And as long as I use the same door you do, no one will know.”

“Good,” she nodded. “Finish packing. I have a few things to get myself. We’ll meet downstairs in fifteen minutes.”

Harry wasn’t sure why he was going along with his aunt’s orders, but he was too curious to stop now. And the way he saw it, he could always send a message to Sirius and the others later and they’d bring him back.

With that thought in mind, he went over to the desk where Hedwig was happily munching on the frog she had caught earlier. He reached over and began petting her head.

“Hey, girl,” he said quietly, “looks like I’m leaving. I want you to come find me, but not right away, wait until morning. Aunt Petunia wants to be sneaky about this.”

The snowy owl gave a soft hoot and nipped his fingers affectionately. He gave a heavy sigh and went back to his packing.

Fifteen minutes later found him seated in the passenger seat of his uncle’s car with his aunt behind the wheel, carefully making their way off Privet Drive. To be safe, Petunia had told him to keep quiet and leave the Cloak on till they were out of Surrey.

Once they hit the main road to London, Harry pulled the Cloak off and turned to look at his aunt. She had promised she would answer his questions, but would she actually keep her word?

“So,” he shook his head, might as well go for it, “this uncle of mine, why haven’t I heard of him before now? Why haven’t I met him? Why didn’t I live with him instead, you guys always hated me? And how do you even know my father had a brother?”

“Calm down,” she took a deep breath. “I’ll start at the beginning, which will actually answer you last question first. I actually met your father and his brother at the same time: at your parents’ wedding. While it may have been obligatory for your mother to invite me, I did attend, she was my sister after all.

“It surprised me actually, because he couldn’t have been much older than twelve. He was your father’s best man.”

“I thought Sirius was my dad’s best man?” Harry interrupted.

“Did he tell you that?” she gave him a sidelong glance.

“Everyone said so,” the teen shrugged. “I actually first heard about it from the Minister of Magic.”

“Sirius acted the part,” Petunia continued. “Your uncle was a quiet boy, and he let him act the part, so that’s not surprising. He actually left before the celebrations were over, but Lily told me about him. Apparently, he and your father were from a foreign land and were not actually Potters at all. They’re relatives of the Potters, though I’m not sure how they’re related, but your father went to live with them when he was accepted to Hogwarts.

“Anyway, after your parents died, and you were brought to us, your uncle showed up. He was named your guardian in their will. He was only fourteen at the time and in no condition to actually raise a child. He and I discussed it and, I admit I was being selfish, I wanted to keep you, you were the last connection I had to my sister. I didn’t think Vernon would be so cruel to you, but I was wrong.”

“But why didn’t you stop him?” Harry shook his head, none of this was making sense. “If I was your connection to my mum, why didn’t you treat me better?”

“There is no excuse,” she sighed. “I was always jealous of your mother because of her magic, and when it became obvious you were just like her, I couldn’t help it. You and Lily are part of something that I could never share, and, sadly, it hurt and I ended up taking it out on the person to which I was jealous.”

“I guess that makes sense,” he sighed, if he knew nothing else about her, his aunt thrived on being the center of attention.

“Anyway,” she shook her head to get back on track, “your uncle left that scroll with me and told me to contact him if I ever changed my mind about keeping you. Truthfully, I almost contacted him when you first received your Hogwarts letter, but Lily would’ve wanted you to go. So I held off. But after tonight, to hell with what Dumbledore says, I’m going to send you to him. Hopefully, Japan will be far enough away to keep you out of that monster’s grasp. And you uncle obviously has magic to help in that aspect, whereas Vernon and I have nothing, except a vague promise that there are wards around our house.”

When she finished, Harry sat back to take in everything he’d just learned. It seemed almost too farfetched, but he’d witnessed the dog’s arrival himself, and his aunt just didn’t have the capability to make something like that up. He really wanted to know more, but it was obvious his aunt had given him all the information she knew. That meant all he could do now was wait till they got to Japan.

“Wait, we’re going to Japan?!”

888888

Kakashi made his way out of his apartment and headed straight for the Hokage’s office. He needed to at least inform Lady Tsunade that someone was coming to live in the village for the foreseeable future. He made his way up the stairs and paused outside the closed office door. He could hear voices, but couldn’t make out what was being said. It didn’t matter though, he had to report in immediately. So with that thought in mind, he knocked on the closed portal.

“Enter,” the Hokage called impatiently.

“Sorry to bother you,” he said as soon as he cleared the threshold, but paused when he saw the three shinobi who were already in the room. “Am I interrupting?”

“As a matter of fact, you are,” the blonde woman behind the desk sighed. “But I’m glad you’re here. Konoha was just about to accept a Sunagakure refugee, and I’d like for you to check in on him from time to time.”

“I don’t see a problem with that,” his one visible eye narrowed. “But can I ask why he’s here?”

“The village has decided to turn against my brother,” the young blonde kunoichi in front of the desk answered tersely. “After we assisted Konoha in the retrieval of Sasuke Uchiha and subsequently failed in that objective, the elders decided that Gaara was not worth the risk anymore and had him arrested. It took us three years, but Kankuro and I finally managed to get him out and sneak him out of the village. As Kazekage, Kankuro can smooth things over about the breakout, but as it stands, Gaara can never return to Suna.

“We had hoped to leave him with Naruto, but as he is still off training, I approached Shikamaru for a favor, since he does owe me after all,” she smiled at the Chunin.

“This is such a drag,” the brunet sighed. “I had to bring them here and get permission, cause it’d be too troublesome to harbor a fugitive in my house.”

“I see,” the jonin nodded. “I don’t mind checking in on him now and again. However, I did come here for another reason. Lady Tsunade,” he turned his attention back to the Hokage, “I’m actually here to let you know that my nephew is coming to live with me.”

“Nephew?” she frowned. “What nephew?”

“My older brother Jirou’s son,” Kakashi sighed. “He spent the last several years before his death on an extended mission, I’m sure there’s a file on it around here somewhere. Anyway, I was supposed to take custody of him upon my brother’s death, but his wife’s sister begged to keep him and I let her. However, she just contacted me and I’m taking him in. I cannot refuse, he’s the only family I have left.”

“Very well,” she waved him off. “Thanks for letting me know. Now all of you get out of my office.”

The four shinobi nodded and filed out of the room. Temari stopped just outside the Tower and turned to the stoic redhead.

“I’m sorry, Gaara,” she looked like she wanted to reach out to him, but held herself in check, “I have to leave now, as it is Kankuro’s going to have enough trouble with your disappearance, he doesn’t need me taking too long to get back.”

“I understand, Temari,” Gaara nodded. “Thank you for not abandoning me. And thank Kankuro as well. Now go. I don’t want you hurt for my sake.”

“Right,” she turned away to hide her tears. “You better take care of him, Shikamaru.”

With that, she took off at a run. The three males watched her go before looking at one another.

“I should be going as well,” Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck. “I need to get home and prepare for my nephew. You two wouldn’t happen to want to help Iruka and I move across town, would you?”

“Sure,” the redhead answered immediately.

“Oh come on,” Shikamaru groaned. “This is such a drag. Fine, I guess I have no choice.”

“Great,” the one visible eye closed in his version of a smile. “If you want to head over to my apartment, Iruka should be back soon. I have one more stop to make.”

He disappeared in a cloud of smoke, trusting the two teens to do what they said. He then made his way over to the training grounds, where Might Gai was normally found at this time of day with what remained of his team. He wished that Asuma and Kurenai were in the village, but unfortunately they were both away on missions of some sort. Well, it didn’t matter, they weren’t there and his choices were limited. He also really needed to do this quickly, and who better than Konaha’s Green Beast to take on that challenge.

He made it to the training ground and was surprised to find not only Gai and his look alike prodigy, Rock Lee, but Neji Hyuga as well. The young Hyuga prodigy was now a jonin and hardly ever found with the two green clad shinobi. He quickly shook it off, he had more pressing matters to deal with than the training habits of the younger generation.

“Yo,” he called as he landed on the branch of a nearby tree.

“Kakashi!” Gai called exuberantly to his self proclaimed rival. “Have you come to train with us? Or perhaps you’d like to challenge me, and attempt to even up our score?”

“Uh, no,” the Copy Ninja shook his head. “I’m actually here to ask a favor.”

“A favor? Of me?” a thick eyebrow rose in surprise.

“Yeah,” Kakashi sighed, he really hated to do this, Gai would never let him live it down. “The thing is, I just found out my nephew is coming to live with me, and I need to move. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem, except he should be here in the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours.”

R-right!” Gai struck a pose, his thumb raised and teeth gleaming. “Come Lee, Neji, let’s help Kakashi in his time of need, and if we cannot complete the task by nightfall, we’ll do one hundred laps around the village.”

“Yes, Gai-Sensei,” Lee saluted and the pair took off at a run.

Kakashi gave a longsuffering sigh. What had he gotten himself into? Well, all he could do now was hope to get back to Iruka before those two did. Before he could disappear, however, a hand landed on his arm. He’d forgotten he wasn’t alone.

“You seem distracted, Kakashi,” the young jonin said quietly.

“Yeah,” he shook his head. “We should go.”

With that he disappeared. The young Hyuga frowned at this. Something was truly wrong with the silver haired man. He would get to the bottom of this, even if it took the rest of the day. On that note, he followed after the others.

Kakashi, thankfully, arrived back at his apartment in time to warn his boyfriend of what he had done. The young Chunin just laughed, and then showed that he had also found them help in the forms of Kiba Inuzuka, Hinata Hyuga, and Shino Aburame. They waited for a few minutes for the rest of the recruits to show up. Once they did, Iruka took charge as only a teacher could.

“Alright,” he clapped his hands together, “here’s the plan. I will take Hinata and Shino over to the other house, start airing it out and, as things start arriving, unpacking. Kakashi, you will remain here with Neji, Gaara, and Shikamaru. Why is Shikamaru here again? Never mind. You four will stay here and pack everything up. Gai, Lee, Kiba, and Akamaru will run things back and forth. Now, Kakashi, if you would please tell me where this house is, we can begin.”

“Here, take Pakkun,” he quickly summoned the little pug. “He knows where it is. Pakkun, please show Iruka to my old home.”

“Sure thing, Boss,” the dog jumped onto the brunet’s shoulder. “Let’s go, Iruka.”

“Okay,” the Chunin nodded. “Hinata, Shino, you’re with me. Gai, Lee, there are a couple boxes already packed just inside the door, if you’d like to grab them.”

Once the boxes were grabbed, they headed off for their destination. Kakashi sighed again, he was doing that a lot today, and ran his hands through his hair. He then turned to the four remaining teens.

“Well, let’s get on with it,” he motioned them into the house. “I think Iruka has some boxes in the bedroom. We’ll start in the kitchen.”

Kiba and Gaara went back to the bedroom to grab the boxes while Kakashi led the other two into the kitchen. Shikamaru sat down at the small table and laid his head on the flat surface. Kakashi made his way over to one of the cupboards and began pulling the contents out and setting them on the counter. After a moment of watching, Neji went over and leaned against the counter next to where his fellow jonin was working.

“Kakashi,” the pale eyed teen crossed his arms over his chest, “what has got you so rattled? You are not acting like yourself.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” the masked man shook his head, but didn’t look away from his current task.

“You asked Gai-Sensei for a favor,” Neji quirked a brow, “that in and of itself is suspicious. You know he will never let you live that down. So what is going on?”

“Yeah, what gives?” Kiba asked as he and Gaara entered the kitchen, each carrying a stack of boxes. “Iruka-Sensei was rather vague about it when he asked for our help, except that the two of you needed help to move quickly.”

“His nephew is coming to live with him,” Shikamaru lifted his head off the table. “At least that’s what he told the Hokage.”

“That’s what he told Gai-Sensei as well,” the Hyuga went over and grabbed a box from the silent redhead, and began placing the items carefully inside.

“Nephew?” the dog shinobi frowned, dropping his stack of boxes on the floor next to the table. “How do you have a nephew?”

“One would assume it is his brother’s son,” Gaara answered in a monotone. “He mentioned the name Jirou in the Hokage’s office.”

“Okay,” Kiba held up his hand. “So you’ve got a brother, Jirou? out there somewhere, who has a kid, who is now coming to live with you? I can live with that. But what I don’t understand is why none of us have ever heard of them, or met them. Is your brother missing? A rogue? Moved to a different village?”

“He’s dead,” Kakashi leaned his hands on the counter.

“Sorry,” the shaggy haired brunet’s eyes widened in shock.

“Look,” the older shinobi sighed and finally looked at the four teens, “I will tell you about my brother and my nephew, but you have to pack up this room as I do so.”

“Fine, great,” Kiba grabbed a box and moved to one of the cabinets, Gaara and, surprisingly, Shikamaru following suit.

“Kakashi!” Gai’s voice rang throughout the house, signaling the return of the dynamic duo.

“Excuse me,” the silver haired jonin left the kitchen, leaving four frustrated teens in his wake.

The four of them continued putting things in boxes while Kakashi went to give the two new arrivals a task. He returned to the kitchen a few minutes later and took the recently vacated seat at the table.

“Alright,” he rubbed the back of his neck, glancing at the teens, who were diligently packing way, but it was clear their attention was focused solely on him. “The reason you haven’t seen or heard of my brother is because he left the village at the age of eleven for an extended infiltration and observation mission. He was only supposed to be gone for seven years, but while he was gone, he met and fell in love with a local woman. He asked the Hokage to extend his mission indefinitely, which was granted. He eventually married Lily and they had a son, Harry.

“A year and a half later, I got a distress signal from Jirou. He and Lily were attacked and killed, and Harry, for unknown reasons, was sent to Lily’s sister, even though I was named his guardian. The Hokage sent me and a small team to retrieve Jirou’s body, which I brought back, along with his wife’s.

“After they were put to rest, I went back for Harry. His aunt begged to keep him, and I was young, it was before I even had a squad, and I couldn’t see myself raising a kid, still kinda don’t, so I let her keep him. I haven’t even seen him since that day. But she has asked me to take him, and as I am his legal guardian, I couldn’t say no.

“On that note,” he looked up and met each of their gazes in turn, “I’d appreciate it if you four would help me keep an eye on him, when you’re not busy of course.”

None of them were sure how to respond to that, not even Kiba who usually had a comeback for everything, so they just continued working.

“Right,” Kakashi shook his head and pushed to his feet. “Well now you know, and I’m off to pack up the bedroom. When you’re done in here, you can move to the living room.”

When the kitchen was packed, they moved to the living room as instructed and Kiba began carting boxes with Gai and Lee. It didn’t take long before the entire house was packed and everyone was carrying the last batch over to the other house.

“Kakashi,” Neji said as he walked next to the other jonin, “what’s going to happen with your apartment?”

“I don’t know,” he shrugged. “I’ll probably rent it out. Why?”

“Can I rent it from you?” the pale eyed teen asked.

“I thought the Hyugas had rules about such things,” the Copy Ninja cast a sidelong glance at the teen. “Don’t all Hyugas have to live in the compound or something?”

“Technically,” Neji shrugged. “I’ve already discussed it with my uncle, and he said if I could find a place, he would support my moving out. With his blessing, as head of the clan, not even the elders can stop me.”

“I see,” Kakashi nodded. “Well, if you want it, you can have it. I’ll figure out rent when I’ve actually had time to think about it. But feel free to move in, you know everything’s clean.”

“Thank you, Kakashi,” the Hyuga prodigy smiled slightly. “And if you need help with your nephew, don’t hesitate to ask.”

“I appreciate that, Neji,” the silver haired man smiled beneath his mask.


	3. New Home

Chapter 3: New Home

 

Neji Hyuga stood in the living room of his new apartment, a small smile gracing his features. True, there wasn’t much as far as furnishings went, just what little his uncle had let him take from the compound; his bed, a spare couch, and a table; but the truth of the matter was that it was his, he was finally free of his clan.

His thoughts were interrupted by a series of knocks on the front door. His smile vanished in an instant as he turned to answer it. On the step were all those he considered friends. There were those from earlier: Lee, Shikamaru, Gaara, Kiba, Shino, and Hinata; and it appeared they had been joined by Ino Yamanaka, Choji Akamichi, and Sakura Haruno.

“Hello, Neji,” his former teammate greeted cheerfully. “We have come to congratulate you on your new home, with celebrations.”

“Of course you did,” he opened the door further and motioned them inside, he could’ve turned them away, but it wasn’t like he didn’t want the company. “I’m sorry, there’s not much here as far as seating or food. I did just move in today.”

“No worries, I brought food,” Choji held up ten plastic bags filled to the brim with various food stuffs.

“That’s great,” the pale eyed teen chuckled quietly. “Kitchen’s through there,” he pointed to the doorway on the right. “We should probably grab the chairs from in there. Even so, I’m afraid people are going to have to sit on the floor.”

No one seemed to care, and about ten minutes later everyone was seated around the living room with plates of food.

“So, Neji,” the pink haired kunoichi asked, “why did you move into Kakashi-Sensei’s apartment? And when did he even move?”

“I wanted my own place,” Neji shrugged. “So I asked Kakashi if I could rent it from him since he didn’t need it anymore.”

“And we helped him and Iruka-Sensei move earlier today,” Kiba interjected. “They needed a bigger place to accommodate his nephew.”

“Nephew?” the ones who hadn’t heard the story earlier chorused.

“Yeah, apparently Kakashi-Sensei’s brother had a brat who’s now coming to live with him,” the dog shinobi shook his head. “And he asked me, Neji, Shika, and Gaara to babysit for him, too.”

“Yeah, the four people who should be watching a kid,” Shikamaru said sarcastically. “Why didn’t he ask Ino, or Sakura, or even Hinata?”

“What’s that supposed to mean, Shikamaru?” Ino asked incredulously, cracking her knuckles.

“I’m not just saying that because you’re girls,” the lazy Chunin held up his hands defensively. “I mean, as girls, you’re more likely to get asked to babysit. Hell, I even get Kiba and Neji being asked. Kiba’s just like a kid himself and he’s got Akamaru, it’d be fun for the kid. And well, Neji’s responsible and would take the job very seriously. But why ask me and Gaara? Watching a kid is too troublesome, and I just don’t want to do it. And who in their right mind would ask Gaara? No offense,” he glanced over at the former Sand shinobi, who just shrugged showing none was taken.

“How do you even know it’s a kid?” Shino asked quietly.

The four teens who heard the story frowned in thought. They were sure Kakashi had mentioned it at some point.

“He said the last time he saw him he was one and a half,” Shikamaru scratched his chin. “And that was before he got his team. So logically, he’d be about five, ten at most.”

“Well,” Sakura shook her head, “personally, I can’t wait to meet him. He’s probably a real cutie.”

888888

Harry Potter yawned as he followed his aunt through Haneda airport. The flight had taken forever, even though he’d slept through most of it. Customs had also taken awhile, but now they were on their way to the baggage claim area. They didn’t actually have any baggage to claim, but apparently that was where they were to meet his uncle.

His eyes darted around, trying to see if he could pinpoint the one they were looking for. Except he didn’t know what his uncle looked like. There weren’t even any pictures in his album, he’d checked once they’d boarded the plane. So he could only assume he looked similar to his dad. Only problem with that was there were so many dark haired people in the crowd.

He felt a tug on his arm from his aunt. She was looking pointedly at a spot next to the window and began leading him in that direction. He was confused because the only person he saw older man with silver hair and an eye patch, reading a small lurid orange book.

“Mr. Hatake,” she said once they were standing directly in front of the man.

The single eye drifted up from the book, which closed with an audible snap, revealing a white surgical mask covering the lower half of the man’s face. Now that they were so close, he saw that the man wasn’t actually that old.

“Ah, Mrs. Dursley,” Mr. Hatake said cordially. “It’s good to see you again. And… god, you look just like Jirou. Anyway, I’m Kakashi, your uncle. It’s good to see you again, Harry.”

“Yeah,” Harry said lamely, this man was something else.

“So, Petunia,” the silver haired man turned his attention back to the female, “do you have time to grab a bite before you head back?”

“My plane doesn’t leave till morning,” she shook her head, “but I’d actually prefer you take Harry and go as quickly as possible. I just want him safe and out of harm’s way.”

“I see,” Kakashi nodded. “And his things?”

“I will send them, or if you could have someone pick them up?”

“I can do that,” he began rummaging through his pockets, finally withdrawing a small scroll. “Take this, do not open it until you have his things together. Pakkun and a couple of my other dogs will retrieve them. They’ll disappear as soon as they have them so don’t worry about that. Well, till next time, I guess.”

“I don’t think there will be a next time,” she sighed, extending her hand. “Goodbye, Kakashi. Harry,” she turned to her nephew, “I wish you the best, and please stay out of trouble.”

“Goodbye, Aunt Petunia,” he shook her hand, and then, acting on Gryffindor impulse, gave her a quick hug.

She returned the embrace a bit hesitantly and then pulled away, her eyes swimming with tears. She pulled a lace handkerchief from her pocket as she turned and disappeared into the crowd.

“Well,” Kakashi rubbed his hands together, “we have a bit of a trip ahead of us before we get home. Come on, I’ll get a cab and I’ll explain a few things on the way.”

The tall man led him out of the airport to the busy street. He hailed a cab and they climbed inside. Kakashi gave the driver the destination and they pulled out into traffic.

“So,” the silver haired man turned to face his nephew, “do you have any questions you’d like to ask?”

“I don’t know where to start,” Harry bit his lip. “I know absolutely nothing about you. I just found out I even had another uncle when my aunt contacted you.”

“I see,” Kakashi nodded, this was unexpected. “Well, how about this? I’ll tell you about myself and if you have any questions, feel free to ask.”

“Okay,” the Gryffindor agreed, that worked.

“Let’s see,” the one visible eye studied the ceiling as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Your father, Jirou, is my older brother. We were both born and raised in Konohagakure, which translates to the Village Hidden in the Leaves. We were both trained from a young age as shinobi in our village, as most children are.”

“Shinobi?” Harry asked, unfamiliar with the term.

“Ninja,” he clarified. “Most of the community I live in is comprised of ninja. We’ll go into the finer points later, just know that it is my job and it can take me away from the village for days or even weeks at a time. Though if that happens I don’t want you to worry.”

“You know, I’m fifteen,” annoyed green eyes glared over the spectacles at the other. “I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”

“I’m not saying you’re not,” Kakashi patted his head indulgently. “As I was saying, my boyfriend, Iruka, is going to be living with us and he will be there when I am not. However, he teaches at the Academy, so most of the time you’ll be on your own. Though, I have asked a few of my colleagues to help out as well. They’re your age, so I’m sure you’ll get along with them.”

“So, I’m going to have babysitters,” he scoffed, sitting back, arms crossed sullenly against his chest. He thought he was leaving that behind in England.

“Don’t think of them as babysitters,” the silver haired shinobi sighed. “And I’m going to start your training once you’re settled in, so bodyguards would become a moot point.”

“You really think I could be trained as a ninja?” his previous ire momentarily forgotten, no one had offered to train him specifically before, except for Remus teaching him to repel the dementors.

“I don’t see why not,” Kakashi smiled under his mask. “If the likes of Lee, Naruto, and Konahamaru can do it, so can you. Besides, you’ll have the best teachers in Konoha. Iruka can teach you the basics, and I’ll take over once you’ve got those down.”

Before Harry could respond, the taxi rolled to a stop at the outskirts of a vast forest. As they stepped out and Kakashi paid the driver, green eyes landed on a sign, not that he could read it, as it was in Japanese.

“Where are we?” he asked as his uncle stepped up beside him.

“Aokigahara Forest,” Kakashi took a deep breath, “it’s a secret entrance into the Elemental nations, similar to the Leaky Cauldron in London.”

“You’ve been to the Leaky Cauldron?” he asked surprised.

“Come on,” the one eyed man chuckled, putting his hand on Harry’s shoulder and urging him on. “When I went to England for your parents’ wedding, your father was quite insistent that I see everything about the new world he’d assimilated into, including the Leaky Cauldron and Diagon Alley. Now, I really want to get home, your aunt’s behavior has set me slightly on edge. So, I’m going to ask that you climb on my back.”

“Why?” Harry asked incredulously.

“Because, even with your added weight, I can run twice as fast as a normal person,” Kakashi squatted down. “If you don’t mind, I really feel haste is necessary.”

The raven haired wizard sighed, but did as his uncle said. As soon as he was secure, Kakashi took off for the heart of the forest at top speed.

888888

Iruka paced back and forth just inside the gates of Konohagakure, anxiously awaiting the return of his boyfriend and his young nephew. The gate guards, Izumo and Kotetsu, watched his progress in growing concern. They’d never seen the Chunin Instructor act like that before, not even when Naruto, his favorite student, had gone off to train.

As he made another pass, a small group of teens approached the gate. The six of them stopped next to the guard station and settled in to wait.

“Are they not here yet, Iruka-Sensei?” the pink haired kunoichi asked.

“Oh, Sakura,” Iruka startled out of his pacing for just a moment. “I didn’t realize you were coming. But no, they aren’t. Kakashi said they’d be here this afternoon, but it’s getting late and they’re not here.”

“Come on, Iruka-Sensei,” Sakura scoffed slightly as he took up pacing again. “This is Kakashi-Sensei we’re talking about. He’s always late, it shouldn’t be that surprising.”

Four incredulous gazes turned to the pinkette, though Iruka seemed not to be paying attention as he continued his rounds.

“Would you shut up, Sakura,” the tall, long haired brunet finally gave voice to their collective thoughts. “One would think, that as a medic in training, you would have learned a bit of empathy toward those who are suffering. Iruka is entitled to worry about his boyfriend. And if he feels there is a need to worry, then perhaps there is an actual reason.”

“Look, Neji,” pale green eyes rolled in annoyance, “Kakashi was my sensei. I know all his tricks. He enjoys making people wait.”

“He may have been your teacher, but he is Iruka’s boyfriend,” pale eyes snapped dangerously. “The relationship is entirely different. He knows things about Kakashi that you could never hope to dream of. So keep your mouth shut and wait.” He then turned to the others, “If he is not back in half an hour, we’ll go look for him.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Gaara spoke up, drawing their attention to him. “Kakashi is there.”

He pointed down the road, where a figure was running toward the village. As he drew nearer, Iruka sprinted out the gate to meet him, the others following at a more sedate pace.

“Kakashi,” the Chunin said when he finally reached his boyfriend, “what happened? What took you so long? I was worried something terrible had happened.”

“I’m sorry, Ruka,” the silver haired man shook his head, removing the boy from his back. “The flight was delayed, and the guards at the border decided they needed to hold us up. I’m glad I got signed permission from Lady Tsunade before I left, otherwise they would’ve kept Harry there. Speaking of,” he motioned to Harry, “Iruka, I’d like you to meet my nephew, Harry Potter. _Harry, this is my boyfriend, Iruka Umino._ ”

“Kakashi?” confused brown eyes turned to the taller man.

“Yeah,” Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Harry doesn’t speak Japanese. It’s something he and I are going to work on. Ah,” he spotted the other teens, “looks like we have a crowd. Hello, I’d like you all to meet my nephew, Harry. _Harry, these are those colleagues I told you about. This is Sakura Haruno, she was a member of my squad before it broke up. That one is Ino Yamanaka. Then there’s Choji Akamichi, Shikamaru Nara, and Neji Hyuga. And the little redhead there is…”_

 _“Sabaku no Gaara,”_ the former Sand shinobi cut in. _“You may call me Gaara. It is an honor to meet you, Harry Potter.”_

All eyes turned to the redhead in shock. None of them had expected that from the stoic teen. However, Harry was the first to snap out of it.

 _“I-it’s nice to meet you, too,”_ out of habit, he extended his hand toward the redhead.

Pale jade orbs drifted down to the proffered hand, while the others held their breath, each ready to step in if something untoward should happen. After a moment, he took it and gave it a firm shake, before pulling away.

“Well, it’s getting late,” Kakashi let out a slow breath, that had been almost too much for his poor heart. “We should be heading home. _Come, Harry, we’re going home now._ ”

They all headed back into the village and then split up and went their separate ways. Once they reached the house, Kakashi gave Harry a tour while Iruka went out to get them something for dinner.

888888

Petunia Dursley sat in the king sized bed of her room at the airport hotel, daintily sipping a glass of red wine and reading a trashy romance novel she’d picked up before leaving Heathrow. It was a strange, yet pleasant experience for her. She hadn’t been on her own like this since Dudley had been born, having him or her husband as a constant presence. Not that she would want this very often, but it was a nice change.

And she was also glad that Harry was now with Kakashi. She would miss him, he was her nephew after all, but as soon as she had handed him over it felt like a weight had been lifted off of her. It felt like she could actually breathe for the first time in fourteen years.

She had just poured herself a second glass of wine, when a soft POP filled the room. She was glad she had just set down the bottle on the nightstand next to the glass or she would have spilled it all over with how violently she started at the noise. Her eyes darted to the source of the disturbance, and finally landed on a bearded old man in dark blue robes, with half moon spectacles covering his bright blue eyes. She knew this man, if only from descriptions she had gotten from her sister.

“Dumbledore,” she said quietly, not having expected this visit quite yet.

“Petunia,” his lips drew together in a frown. “What have you done? Where is Harry?”

A devious smile pulled at her own mouth, “I’m not sure what you mean. I have only done what is in Harry’s best interest. Something I actually should have done years ago. He is now safe from you and your kind, but especially from Voldemort. And the best part, you will never find him unless he wants to be found.”

“You pathetic Muggle,” Dumbledore sneered. “There is no place you could hide him that we will not find him. He has a destiny to fulfill and there is no power you possess that will keep him from us and his destiny.”

“Insult me all you like,” she scoffed, “but obviously I have outsmarted you, and Harry is now beyond your reach, otherwise you would not be here in my hotel room. Now, I believe it is time for you to leave, I have a plane to catch first thing in the morning.”

“You’ll pay for this Petunia Dursley, mark my words,” he glared at her.

“Right,” she rolled her eyes. “Bye now.”

With one last sneer in her direction, he disappeared just as suddenly as he had appeared.

As soon as he was gone, she settled smugly back against the headboard. She hadn’t known exactly what would happen when she sent Harry with Kakashi, just that he would be better able to protect him, but this was better than she could’ve ever hoped for. Apparently, James’ little brother had some strong magic of his own, stronger than even Dumbledore’s. It looked like her choice was becoming even more appealing by the moment, and there was nothing the old codger could do to her that would change her mind.


	4. Chapter 4: Interrogations and Language Barriers

Chapter 4: Interrogations and Language Barriers

 

As Kakashi led his nephew away, all eyes turned to the little redhead. Gaara just stared impassively back. It was Choji, however, who finally broke the tension.

“Well,” the tall redhead said, “I have reservations for Bar-b-que, if anyone wants to come along.”

“Naw, you go,” Shikamaru shrugged. “My mom made dinner, and you know how she gets. Gaara and I are expected to be there.”

“I should go as well,” Neji shook his head. “I have some paperwork to put together for Lady Hokage.”

“I’m on a diet,” Sakura said with a mild look of disgust.

“Aren’t you always, Billboard Brow?” Ino scoffed. “I’ll go with you, Choji. I can order a salad. You’re buying, right, Choji?”

“If you’re only getting a salad, I think I can manage,” he laughed as the two teammates walked away.

The pinkette rolled her eyes and walked away in a slight huff. The other two Leaf shinobi shared a look before heading off in the opposite direction of the medic.

“So we going to your place, Neji?” the lazy Chunin asked.

“Yeah,” the pale eyed teen nodded.

Gaara didn’t say anything as he allowed the pair to escort him to Neji’s apartment. He knew as soon as they reached their destination they were going to start questioning him. He didn’t mind answering, it was just a part of his past that he had never shared with anyone before. There were the obvious reasons; it had been a top secret mission he had been assigned and it was also one of his father’s many bids to get rid of him, but those aside, it had been the happiest six months of his life, prior to meeting Naruto.

His thoughts were interrupted as Neji unlocked the door to the apartment. The three of them made their way over to the living room. Neji and Shikamaru sat down on the sofa while Gaara remained standing and stared out the window at the gathering dusk.

“So,” pale eyes locked on the redhead, “Gaara, care to explain what that was back there? How did you understand him?”

The former Sand shinobi took a deep breath before turning to face his companions, “As you know, I am the son of the former Kazekage, because of this, things were expected of me. I was taught several languages when I was young, among them Chinese, Russian, French, Spanish, and English. Kakashi’s nephew speaks English, more specifically the accent suggests Great Britain. I recognized it because I spent some time in the British Isles a few years ago on a mission.”

“What kind of mission?” Shikamaru frowned, aside from Kakashi’s brother he’d not heard of a ninja being sent outside the elemental nations.

“There was a break in at a bank,” the redhead shook his head. “There was no sign of the intruder or evidence how they had gotten in. My father was contacted and I was sent. The culprit was not found, even after I was there for six months. It was my first failed mission.”

“But why would a shinobi of your caliber be sent for something as simple as a break in?” Neji asked.

“The clients were wizards,” Gaara sighed. “They use magic, similar to how we utilize chakra.”

“There’s no such thing as magic,” the lazy Chunin scoffed.

“You can believe what you will,” he shrugged. “But I was there. I know what I saw. I actually still have a contact there. In fact, he tried to contact me for a mission a couple years back, but I was already imprisoned at that point and could do nothing.”

“I thought you didn’t do well with people,” the pale eyed Jonin frowned. “Naruto was an exception because he’s just like you.”

“So is Remus, in a way,” the redhead shook his head. “He is not a jinchuriki, but his monster is just as powerful as any of the bijuu, only more out of control. He’s what is known as a werewolf, and we learned a lot from each other over the years. I should probably write him and establish that line of communication again.”

“That’s all well and good, I’m sure we’ll hear more about it later,” Shikamaru rubbed the back of his neck. “In the meantime, can you teach us English? It seems it might come in handy for more than just talking with Kakashi’s nephew.”

“I believe that would be wise,” Gaara nodded. “I also know a jutsu that will help expedite the process. However, it will take time, not as much as it normally would, and I will warn you, I am not an easy instructor.”

“Didn’t think you would,” the lazy Chunin sighed. “This is so troublesome.”

888888

Remus Lupin sat in the kitchen of twelve Grimmauld Place, the current headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, waiting in silent trepidation as Albus Dumbledore paced angrily around the room. The entire Order had been summoned for an emergency meeting, but the aged headmaster had not said anything for almost fifteen minutes now, and everyone was getting restless.

“Why did you call us here in the middle of the night, Dumbledore?” trust Severus to get right to the point. “Some of us actually have important matters to attend to.”

“Harry is missing,” the old man turned to address the assembled crowd, his eyes not holding their usual twinkle.

The uproar this simple announcement cause was almost deafening as practically everyone began shouting at once. Dumbledore, however, held up his hands and silence fell once again.

“I can assure you that he was not taken by Voldemort or his Death Eaters,” he shook his head. “No, his Muggle relatives have somehow hidden him from even the most advanced magic.”

“How is that even possible, Albus?” Minerva McGonagall asked with a frown.

“I do not know,” Dumbledore finally took a seat at the head of the table. “All I know is that when I realized something was wrong, I went in search of Petunia Dursley and found her in Tokyo.”

Remus could’ve sworn he saw a smirk cross the face of Sirius Black out of the corner of his eyes, but when he turned to face him, his face was blank.

“Why would they take him there?” Molly Weasley asked, confused. “It seems a bit extreme to take him to Japan.”

“Japan is known for its ancient and mysterious magic,” Alastor “Mad-Eye” Moody scratched at his lopsided nose. “Maybe they discovered something there that would hide the boy.”

“They are Muggles, Moody,” Severus sneered. “They know next to nothing about magic, and these particular Muggles hate and fear it. They would not seek out any form of magic, especially not to help their nephew. What surprises me, though, is that we haven’t heard anything from the mutt. Cat got your tongue, Black?”

“No, Snivellus,” grey eyes narrowed into a glare. “I was just thinking of everything I need to have to be ready to leave for Japan as soon as this meeting is over.”

“Sirius, I cannot allow you…” the headmaster began.

“Save it, Dumbledore,” the escaped convict cut him off. “You lost the right to tell me what to do when you lost my godson. So unless you plan to have me arrested and admit that you’ve been aiding and abetting me for the past year, you’ll shut up and let me go about finding Harry.”

With that, he pushed to his feet and left the room. Remus glanced around at the others before following his friend from the room. He caught up with the other just as he reached the door to his bedroom.

“Sirius, what were you thinking, talking to Dumbledore like that?”

“Not here,” Sirius grabbed his arm and dragged him into the room.

He practically tossed him onto the bed and then began making his way around the room, grabbing several items and tossing them into a magically enhanced knapsack. Remus had just found his voice when the other stopped moving.

“Kreacher,” Sirius said before Remus could say anything.

“Sirius,” the werewolf sighed as they waited for the house elf to appear.

“Look, Moony,” his friend shook his head, “I don’t care if you tag along, but if you’re going to come, I suggest you go pack. I’m gonna leave as soon as I finish with Kreacher. Kreacher, goddamn it, get in here! That’s an order.”

A loud CRACK filled the air and a small creature with large bat like ears and a snout like nose appeared. His bloodshot eyes assessed the two men with unveiled distain before he sank into a low bow at Sirius’ feet.

“Master called for poor Kreacher?” he asked in a low raspy voice. “Ungrateful brat always trying to…”

“Just shut up for five minutes, Kreacher.”

The elf’s mouth snapped shut with an audible click.

“Now,” Sirius took a deep breath, “I want you to go to the kitchen and get me some food, nothing gross, but enough to last two people for about two weeks. Now, this next part is very important and I need you to listen carefully: I’m not kicking anyone out while I’m gone, but I want you to monitor everything they do, especially the meetings, and report everything back directly to me. Understood?” the small bald head bobbed in the affirmative. “And, you know what, Kreacher,” he said, more as an afterthought, “as a reward for all this, I’ll let you gather anything that you feel needs salvaged from the restoration project they’ve got going on. Just know I will go through it all when I get back. Have some fun, cause some mayhem, you know, things you’re good at. Now go.”

The elf disappeared with another accompanying CRACK. Sirius then turned back to his friend.

“Seriously, Remus, if you want to come along, go get your stuff,” grey eyes held brown. “You have about five to ten minutes before I’m out the door. If you’re coming, I’ll explain everything once we’re out of here. I don’t trust anyone here, not with Harry’s safety.”

“Fine,” the werewolf sighed, pushing to his feet. “I’ll meet you downstairs in five minutes.”

“No,” Sirius shook his head. “Meet me back here. I don’t want to risk anyone following us.”

Remus nodded and made his way across the hall to his room to gather his things.

888888

Harry woke with the sun the following morning. He felt exhausted but the bright sunlight, coupled with his new unfamiliar surroundings, made it impossible for him to go back to sleep. With that realization, he climbed out of bed and located some clean clothes in his knapsack. Once he was dressed, he made his way out of the room and toward the kitchen, where the enticing scent of food was pulling him.

He was surprised, when he entered, to see not his uncle but the brunet he’d introduced as his boyfriend. Iruka, he thought his name was. The man turned from the stove, unsurprised by his appearance, with a kind smile on his face.

“Good morning, Harry,” he said quietly. “I made breakfast,” he indicated the stove. “I know you can’t understand me, but please, have a seat?” he motioned to the table.

Harry nodded, showing he understood, even though the words were completely foreign to him. He pulled out a chair and took a seat. The man’s smile grew as his instructions were followed. He turned back to the stove and grabbed a plate from one of the cabinets. He piled it with food and placed it before the boy, along with a pair of chopsticks.

“Eat,” he encouraged, moving to the doorway. “I’m going to go wake up, Kakashi.”

The teen only vaguely understood what he was getting at, but decided to turn his attention to the food in front of him. Iruka nodded and continued out of the room. He made his way down the hallway to the room he shared with his boyfriend. He entered quietly and sat down on the edge of the bed.

“Kakashi,” he called quietly, marveling at how peaceful the other looked in sleep. “Kakashi, it’s time to wake up.”

“Mmm,” his non sharingan eye peeked open. “No.”

In a move that caught the younger man off guard, he wrapped an arm around his waist and dragged him down on the bed, moving so that he was pinning him beneath him.

“Kakashi!” Iruka protested. “I have to be at the academy in half an hour.”

“Hm,” a smirk graced the handsome face, “looks like we have some time then.”

“And your nephew is in the kitchen,” the Chunin frowned.

“Harry’s awake?” Kakashi jumped up and began throwing on clothes. “I thought for sure he’d sleep in. Is he okay?”

“I left him eating breakfast,” Iruka propped himself up on his elbows to watch his normally composed lover scramble around like a teenager, feeling he should be a bit offended with how easily he’d been distracted but not able to manage it. “He should be fine for a bit. But it is hard to talk to him when we speak different languages.”

“I promise we’ll work on that,” Kakashi flashed him a smile before pulling his mask into place. “Just not right now. You have work and I have to talk to Lady Tsunade.” He finally held out his hand for the other, “Come on, let’s go.”

The brunet shook his head but allowed the Jonin to pull him up and together they made their way back to the kitchen. They both frowned slightly as they entered and saw Harry sitting at the table with his hands folded in his lap and a full plate of food in front of him.

 _“Something wrong with the food?”_ Kakashi asked, making his way to the stove to get his own plate.

 _“No, sir,”_ the teen answered quietly, _“I just had nothing to eat with.”_

 _“Didn’t Iruka…?”_ his one visible eye narrowed as he scanned the table. _“Ah, I see.”_ He turned back to the counter, _“Your mother had the same issue. Jirou used to get a kick out of it, but I think she sent me, ah ha!”_ He held up a fork in triumph. _“You’ll have to learn to use chopsticks eventually, but as you just got here it’s something we’ll work on. Now, eat up. Iruka’s actually a really good cook.”_

 _“Thank you,”_ he took the utensil. _“And tell Iruka thank you too. It does look good.”_

 _“Eat,”_ the silver haired man chuckled, lowering his mask to do just that. _“As long as you finish it, he’ll know.”_

Harry nodded and began to eat. The two men shared a smile before starting in on their own food. They ate in silence and before long they were all finished, and the dishes gathered by Kakashi, who immediately started washing them.

“Well, I’m off,” Iruka went over and gave Kakashi a kiss before grabbing his bag and flak jacket and heading out the door.

 _“Where’s he going?”_ Harry asked, slightly confused.

 _“As I explained earlier,”_ his uncle shook his head, not turning away from his task, _“not that I expect you to remember everything, this has been a lot to take in, Iruka is a teacher at the Academy. He’s off to mold young minds and train them in the way of the shinobi.”_

 _“Right,”_ the bespectacled teen nodded. _“I’m sorry, I forgot.”_

 _“It’s okay,”_ the silver haired Jonin chuckled. _“Now, as soon as I’m done here, I figured I’d show you around the village, and introduce you to the Hokage.”_

 _“The Hokage?”_ Harry frowned.

_“She’s the leader of our village. She’s also a great medic and I’d like her to take a look at you at some point in the near future, probably not today, but soon.”_

Harry didn’t know what to say to that so he remained silent. Within ten minutes, the dishes were done and Kakashi was dressed in his usual style including his mask, flak jacket, and hitaate covering his right eye. Harry was curious about why he covered his face and what had happened to his eye as he hadn’t covered it during breakfast, revealing the long vertical scar running over it, but had kept it closed the entire time. But years at the Dursleys had taught him better than to ask. So he continued his silence as they made their way out of the house.

As they walked through the village, the teen was surprised at how many people greeted his uncle. He was obviously well liked in the village. Though they greeted him amicably enough, no one really came up to them. This changed, however, as a cloud of dust made straight for them as they were almost to their destination.

When the dust was almost upon them, it stopped and settled, revealing a tall man with black hair styled into a bowl cut and clad in a green jumpsuit, orange legwarmers, and a flak jacket.

“My great rival, Kakashi!” he smiled, showing gleaming white teeth, and reminding Harry strongly of Gilderoy Lockhart.

 _“Did he win Witch Weekly’s most charming smile award, too?”_ the bespectacled teen muttered quietly.

 _“I don’t think so,”_ his uncle chuckled. _“Harry, this is Might Gai._ Gai, allow me to introduce you to my nephew, Harry Potter.”

“Ah, this is your charming nephew,” Gai’s smile, if possible, got even bigger. “He is so full of youth. It is an honor to meet you, young Harry.”

“Unfortunately,” Kakashi cut in, “he does not speak our language. And we are on our way to see the Hokage, so we should be going, you know how she hates to be kept waiting.”

“Rrright,” the green clad man winked and gave them the thumbs up before taking off once again, kicking up another dust trail in his wake.

 _“Who exactly was that?”_ Harry blinked after the strange man.

 _“That was Might Gai,”_ Kakashi shook his head, _“Konoha’s Sexy Green Beast, his own choice in moniker, no one else’s, and my self-proclaimed rival. He’s a talented shinobi, and a decent enough guy, though a bit eccentric.”_

 _“He kinda reminds me of an old professor I had,”_ the raven haired teen shook his head. _“But he was a fraud.”_

 _“Gai may be a lot of things, but a fraud is not one of them,”_ his uncle laughed quietly. _“Anyway, we should see Lady Tsunade now.”_

Harry nodded and they continued on their way. A few minutes later, they arrived outside a set of large double doors guarded by two masked figures. The sentinels made the teen nervous, with their blank faced masks, but Kakashi just nodded at them and knocked on the door. A voice called from within and he pushed the portal open.

Inside the room, behind a large desk piled high with stacks of paper, was a comely blonde woman with the biggest boobs Harry had ever seen. He quickly averted his eyes so as not to appear rude by staring.

“Ah, Kakashi,” she pushed to her feet and walked around the desk, “so you’ve returned. And this must be your nephew.”

“Yes,” the Jonin nodded, “this is my nephew, Harry Potter. _Harry, this is Lady Tsunade, the leader of our village.”_

 _“Wait,”_ Tsunade cut in in English, _“you wouldn’t happen to be The Boy-Who-Lived would you?”_

Green eyes widened at the question and he reached up automatically to flatten his bangs. Her brown eyes followed the movement and a faint smirk graced her features.

 _“Judging by your reaction, it would seem you are,”_ she shook her head. _“He would be part of your family, wouldn’t he, Kakashi? Well all that aside, welcome, Harry, to Konohagakure.”_


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

 

Harry lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling and thinking about everything that had happened to him since he had met his uncle. It had been a little over a week since he had arrived in Konoha, and after his meeting with Lady Tsunade, not much had happened. He had had a checkup at the hospital the following day but other than that he had stayed at the house with Kakashi.

The silver haired man had spent most of the time teaching him Japanese, but it was a frustratingly slow process. The only good thing about this was that Iruka seemed to be going through the same torture, only he seemed to be progressing at a better pace, as he could now at least hold a stilting conversation in English whereas Harry only had a handful of words down.

Aside from that, he had learned some interesting things. He had learned that his grandparents had died before his father had gone away to Hogwarts, but not how as Kakashi refused to talk about it. He also found out that his uncle did have two eyes, he just kept one covered because it had some sort of power that drained him if he used it too much. And that Kakashi spent any moment he could reading the lurid orange book series he’d had at the airport, and had discovered that it was porn. Though, the most important thing he had discovered, at least to him, was why.

_Flashback_

_“Can—can I ask you something?” Harry asked hesitantly, as they made their way back from the hospital after his exam, as it had taken him that long to work up the nerve to actually voice it._

_“Of course,” Kakashi looked down at him. “Ask anything you’d like. I may not answer all of them, but you’re always free to ask.”_

_“Okay,” he frowned slightly, that would take some getting used to. “Why? Why wait till now to take me in? If you were, are, my legal guardian, why wait so long to take me away?”_

_“Well,” the silver haired man sighed, “that’s a complicated question, and the answer’s not an easy one. But I guess it comes down to the fact that I was being selfish. You see, when Jirou died I was only fourteen, a little younger than you are now, and in no real mental state to take on a child. So when your aunt asked to keep you, I jumped on it. It wasn’t that I wouldn’t have taken you, I just wasn’t prepared to. I left the scroll just in case, but I figured since you didn’t use it, you were happy there, and who was I to deny you that. That’s why I didn’t write or visit either. I didn’t want to complicate your life by bringing my drama into it. I thought it would be best for you to live a happy, normal life with the Dursleys and without me.”_

_“I was never happy there,” tears glistened in emerald orbs. “The Dursleys hated me, and I wished so hard that someone would take me away from there. But no one ever came, no one ever cared.”_

_“Harry,” his uncle put his hands on his shoulder, halting their progress, and sank to his knees in front of him, “I have always cared, and will continue to do so until my dying day. I’m not saying I didn’t make mistakes, and I should have visited. And I have regretted not taking you with me every day for the past fourteen years. Now, I know you have no reason to trust me, but if you’ll let me, I will do whatever it takes to prove to you that no matter what I love you and I will do my best to never let anything happen to you ever again.”_

_Harry wasn’t sure why, but he believed him. And as the tears finally gave way, he practically threw himself on the man in a desperate hug._

_End Flashback_

Things had only gotten better between them since then. However, all that had come to a screeching halt earlier that day when Kakashi had been summoned by the Hokage. He had returned from his meeting with a mission. He would be leaving first thing in the morning, and Harry had never found himself dreading the dawn more.

But come it did, whether he liked it or not. As the first rays of light filtered through his window, Harry got up and made his way to the kitchen. Surprisingly, or maybe not so, he was the first one there. He went to the fridge and quietly pulled out the things he’d need to make breakfast. He was just finishing up when his uncle and Iruka entered the room.

 _“What you make?”_ the brunet asked in broken English.

“Food,” Harry answered in Japanese.

This was something Kakashi was fond of making them do. If they could get across what they wanted in the new language they should. After all, it was the words that were important, grammar would come along later.

 _“What kind?”_ the Chunin persisted.

“Breakfast food,” he shrugged. “ _You know_ , kind you eat in mornings.”

Iruka stared at him incredulously for a moment before realizing he was joking and giving his shoulder a playful smack. Kakashi, who had stayed silent through the entire exchange, burst out laughing.

“I think he learned just enough Japanese so he could sass you, Ruka,” he said between chuckles.

“He did not,” the younger man pouted slightly, before turning pleading eyes on the wizard.

Harry just shrugged in response. He may not be able to speak it well yet, but he was getting better at understanding what was being said.

“He had to have gotten that from you and your brother,” Iruka scowled as he grabbed a plate that the teen had just dished up.

“Actually,” the Jonin shook his head, “it could be from his mother. Now, I’m not saying that Jirou and I aren’t smartasses, but Lily was in a class of her own. The amount of sass that woman could dish out was impressive. I really wasn’t that surprised Jirou married her. She was the only female in that world who could keep up with him.”

“I’m still blaming you,” the brunet turned his head away.

“Ruka, is this really the way you want this to go?” a brow rose over the good eye. “Pretending to be mad at me?”

“That’s not fair,” brown eyes narrowed slightly.

“When have I ever played fair?”

“Kakashi, you’d better apologize right now,” Iruka snapped, “or I’ll be mad at you for real, and you can get out now.”

Harry just watched the byplay in silence, having lost the conversation. And even though the tone of the conversation had changed, he knew there was no real malice between the couple. Even just being here for the short time he had, he knew they were perfect for each other.

“Fine, fine,” his uncle held up his hands in surrender, “I’m sorry. Please, forgive me.”

“Fine,” the other sighed and turned back to his breakfast, “you are forgiven.”

“Well, on that note,” Kakashi shook his head, “I have something to tell you both. _So Harry, please pay attention._ ” Green eyes rose from his plate to look at his uncle. “Now, I know you two are working hard at understanding each other, and you’ve made real progress, but Lady Tsunade feels that the two of you shouldn’t be left on your own, and I have to agree with her. So, I’ve asked Gaara, and by extension Shikamaru, to stay here until I return.”

“Is that really necessary?” Iruka protested. “We understand each other enough, we can manage without them.”

“Look, Ruka,” the Jonin ran a hand through his hair, “it’s either they stay here, as Gaara is one of the only ones who can communicate with Harry properly, or Harry stays with Tsunade until I return.”

“No,” Harry protested. _“I want to stay here. It’s hard enough you’re leaving. Please don’t send me away.”_

“We won’t,” the Chunin reassured him. “Fine, they can stay here.”

“Good,” Kakashi shook his head. “They should be here soon. I won’t leave until they get here.”

 _“I wish they wouldn’t come then,”_ the teen muttered quietly.

“If you can tell us, what is your mission anyway?” Iruka asked, choosing to ignore the teen’s comment for the moment, even if he secretly agreed with him.

“It’s nothing like that,” the Copy Ninja smiled. “She wants me to go find Jiraya and bring him back. She has something important to discuss with him.”

“Jiraya?” brown eyes widened in disbelief. “But that could take months.”

“Lady Tsunade has a general idea where he is,” Kakashi sighed, he had had the same reaction. “It shouldn’t take more than a week, two at the most. In fact, I told her if I couldn’t find him in two weeks, I would be coming back and she could send someone else.”

“I see,” the brunet nodded. “Well, I hope you find him soon.”

“As do I,” the Jonin agreed.

The rest of the meal was finished in silence, and then Iruka shooed the other two out so he could clean up. Harry and Kakashi sat in the living room, the latter trying to cheer the other up as much as he could before he had to leave. Within the hour, the other two teens showed up and Kakashi took his leave.

888888

“Sirius!” Remus snapped as he Apparated next to his friend.

The pair of them had been traveling like this for days now, ever since they had left Grimmauld Place. They couldn’t take a direct route to Japan as they couldn’t risk being followed, but this was getting out of hand. Besides, the Animagus had promised answers but had yet to provide them.

“We have to keep going, Remus,” Sirius sighed impatiently.

“I understand your haste, I do,” the werewolf shook his head. “But we’re not moving from this spot until you give me the explanation you promised days ago.”

“Fine,” grey eyes closed briefly. “It’s a good time for something to eat anyway.”

He pulled out the food that Kreacher had gotten for them and handed some to his friend. They sat down and ate in silence for a few minutes before Remus’ impatience won out.

“So?” he prompted.

“Alright,” Sirius sighed, pulling his wand and casting several privacy spells, even though there was no one in sight. “I know why Petunia Dursleys took Harry to Tokyo.”

“You do?” the werewolf frowned.

“There’s only one reason why she would,” the Animagus shook his head. “Kakashi.”

“What?”

“Think back, Remus,” the brunet ran a hand through his hair, “to James and Lily’s wedding. Remember James’ best man, because it sure as hell wasn’t me.”

“Right,” brown eyes narrowed in thought. “It was a kid, with white hair.”

“Yeah, that was James’ kid brother, Kakashi Hatake.”

“I didn’t know James had a brother,” Remus’ frown deepened.

“No one did, except me, the Potters, and eventually Lily,” Sirius sighed. “I only found out because I spent so much time at the Potters. They weren’t his parents, they were distant relatives on his mother’s side, I believe, who agreed to take him in when he got his Hogwarts letter. His real name was Jirou Hatake. Anyway, he was originally from Japan. Not Tokyo, per se, but from what he told me that’s where one of the entrances is located.”

“Entrances?”

“Yeah, it’s similar to the Wizarding world, only they call themselves the Elemental Nations, and they’re made up of ninja,” he continued.

“Like Sunagakure?” the werewolf asked in surprise.

“That’s one of the main villages, yes,” grey eyes widened slightly in shock. “Only James and Kakashi are from Konohagakure, the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Anyway, in the event of James and Lily’s death, according to their will, Harry was supposed to go to Kakashi. I don’t know why he didn’t, but that has to be what Petunia did. But because of that, Harry’s safer than he would be anywhere else. The world as a whole doesn’t know about the ninja community, and those that do don’t really know how to get there. They keep themselves separated on purpose. I only know how to get there because James told me when they found out Voldemort was after them, just in case I had to take Harry there, or wanted to see him afterward.”

“Okay then,” Remus pushed to his feet. “What are we waiting for? Let’s go.”

“You know,” Sirius gave him a sidelong glance, “you took that pretty well.”

“I already said the name of one of the villages, so I obviously know someone from there,” the sandy haired man chuckled. “No, a few years ago, I met a kid from Sunagakure. We… share some experiences. Maybe when we get there, I can get in contact with him again.”

“Well, we’ll never know until we get there.”

With that he took the other’s arm and Apparated them away.


End file.
